Richard Woodward is Lecturer in Global Business at Technological University Dublin. He is a political economist whose research sits at the intersection of international relations and international business, with a particular focus on global governance, geopolitics, sport diplomacy, and soft power.

His current research has three strands. The first explores the phenomenon of sports, diplomacy and soft power. This work examines how sport, both historically and in the present, functions as a diplomatic resource through which states and non-state actors seek to build relationships, communicate values and acquire soft power. 

The second examines the impact of changing geopolitical realities on the institutions of global governance and the related challenges of doing business in a deglobalising world.

The final strand of his research addresses industrial policy and innovation in an era of heightened geopolitical competition. Engaging with longstanding debates in political economy about the respective role of states and markets in enhancing economic development puts industrial strategy into its historical context and suggests the choice is not about whether states have an industrial policy but how it is practised. 

Richard has published widely on international organisations and global governance including three books The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (Routledge, 2009, second edition 2022) and (with Michael Davies) International Organizations: A Companion (Edward Elgar 2014). His work has also appeared in leading journals including New Political Economy, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Political Quarterly, Economics Letters and Technovation. He has held visiting positions at the University of Tasmania and the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) and is a Non-Resident Fellow at Trends Research and Advisory in the UAE.

Global governance, globalisation, OECD, soft power, sport diplomacy, sport megaevents, industrial policy, industrial strategy, geopolitics, world politics